Before we know if we will even have a summer this year, the ding for the All-Ireland final is sounded.
One last great blow-out and inter-county hurling is over until next spring. All we can do is hope that in the long run the GAA starts to look after hurling the way they should and in the short-term pray that this perfect match-up between Limerick and Kilkenny gives us another epic final to remember.
If you'd asked us at the final ding of last year's championship what we would wish from this year's edition, we would have said a classic final between Limerick and Kilkenny would suit just fine.
We've had a climax so complex and nuanced that looking forward to it is nearly as good as watching it.
Remember last year? We raised Limerick's right arm into the air and announced them the still undefeated champions, a team for the ages.
Winners write the headlines of history and they were glorious winners. But Kilkenny scored 2-26 that day, more than any losing side have ever scored in an All-Ireland final and they scored that against a fully manned Limerick defence.
Limerick hit the 30 points mark for the third All-Ireland final in a row though. Their half-forward line with Kyle Hayes filling in for Cian Lynch gave a performance that broke Kilkenny hearts.
They scored 1-14 between them but their brilliance was personified by Gearoid Hegarty who gave us the best in a series of outstanding final performances from him.
He scored 1-05, shot two wides, had nine successful passes and 11 more possessions than the best Cats had.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
We're 12 months on and the end of a championship that has hardly given us time to draw breath or reflect, Limerick and Kilkenny are back again but things have changed.
Limerick are now on a high plateau waiting for Kilkenny to arrive. It's no criticism to say that they haven't changed too much or got too much better in the past year.
Their achievement has been keeping to the standard they set for themselves. If you look at their line-up for this Sunday as they go for four All-Irelands in a row, it has changed little since 2020.
They have a golden generation, knowing each others' play perhaps better than any team that has gone before them.
Kilkenny are the most ruthless and determined of the chasing pack. Any All-Ireland they don't win, they feel has been stolen from their pockets.
Upstarts from Limerick winning four in a row just doesn't compute within the Kilkenny hurling brain.
Have the Big Three of hurling become the Big Four? In Kilkenny, the Big Three always had two members too many for their liking anyway.
That's to be respected within their hurling tradition. Kilkenny are better than last year. We can say that the vaunted Limerick half-forward line, with the exception of Tom Morrissey, have been subdued this year.
We can say that the same half-forward line that may be the best in history is due a big game this Sunday.
Either way Kilkenny know they cannot surrender so much ball in space in the half-back line area again.
When it comes to the efficiency of taking scores from chances, Kilkenny are Limerick's match, slightly better even according to the stats.
Eoin Cody is an improved and hungrier player this year and surely has had the belly full of quiet days against Limerick.
TJ Reid has the hurling smarts to make himself five years younger once more.
So who will be the victor? Gun to the head, we're sticking with Limerick to win. Their process is so ingrained, it's in their DNA.
Slán go fóill a chairde, let's savour these monumental days and we'll see you all next year when the monsoon season and the mircowave gets plugged in again.
Dónal Óg Cusack was speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship final, Limerick v Kilkenny, this Sunday from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
